Wanting To Quit Taking Contrave (Page 4)

I need to know how to stop taking contrave. Can I just quit cold turkey or do I wean off? If I wean off how do I do it?

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Kathy, I didn't really do anything extreme. They suppress your appetite so you eat less and of course your body burns fat for energy. I would walk the dogs in the morning about a mile or so and then tried to get on the treadmill for another mile or so. I didn't really watch calories. I just watched portions and tried to make healthy choices, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't eat pasta and pizza now and then. I think I may have lost more if I had really done a better job with my food choices. I noticed that the appetite suppression started to fade after about 3 or 4 months. That's when I noticed that my weight loss had slowed down. After that I still lost about another 10 pounds. But, since my goal weight is still about 30-35 pounds away I decided to wean off, give my body a break and start back up after the new year.

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I have experienced tendinitis in both of my feet and I am wondering if this could be a side effects of Contrave. It is listed in the package insert for
Wellbutrin. Has anyone else experienced this? I stopped Contrave and it went away, started back on it and the tendinitis has come back.

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The subsidized price was $60 and went up to $92. For me, it's still an affordable option for successful weight loss. I spent 4 times that on other programs that didn't work. Also, you eat less so that could be a nice offset!? Good luck!

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I took Contrave for 2 months. I titrated to 2 in the morning, but didn't need the 2 in the evening because it had suppressed my appetite so much that I didn't want to eat. At my 30-day follow up my doctor told me that dosage was ok if it's working for me. My first week was horrible with nausea & diarrhea. I found that taking it after breakfast helped with the nausea. The 2nd week was constipation, so I tried to increase my fluids. I quit, unintentionally, at around 10 weeks. I would forget to take it before leaving work, but noticed that I still wasn't feeling hungry. I wasn't motivated to restart primarily because of the slow rate of weight loss... 6lbs in the first week and that was it! I haven't experienced any other side effects, but at $95/month I can put that toward a gym membership.

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I just started my second week of two pills
Thursday would be two weeks.
I've seen a difference with my mood which is great but headache
Face hot flashes and anxiousness comes and goes and twitches. Crazy stuff kinda scary.
I think I'd rather be chubby and have my wits
I called my doc and she said for me to stop
And cold turkey until I see her
Maybe because I have only been taken it 2 weeks
Whatever I'm not like if the side effects
Good luck to all

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I am 63 and have been on Contrave for 9 months. I have lost 40 lbs. The side affects are constant. I take 2 at night and 1 in the morning. I had constipation and so I take Miralax every day. My muscles are weak especially in my legs. I saw my doctor yesterday. We are trying to figure out the sores in my mouth that cause a lot of discomfort. They come and go. He is running tests. I pretty much decided to quit taking Contrave. At this point I am so tired of dealing with the side affects I figure any withdrawals I experience can't be worse then my side affects.

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I just got off of Contrave yesterday in fact. At first it helped slow down my eating but yes I had the cramps/gassy. Now after5 1/2 months and just losing 10 pounds and when Doctor heard how much I paid he said get off of them. Not worth it. So tonight I am cramping terribly and wonder if it is from stopping cold turkey but I wouldn't think if I was going to have withdrawals it wouldn't be this soon. Any ideas???

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Ok, here goes, I retired from the military 7 years ago. Toward the end of my career I was fighting my weight to stay within military standards. 6'0 with a max weight of 203. While I was active duty I ate pretty much everything I wanted and after age 40 I was struggling to make annual weight requirements. I was usually about 220 and would have to sit in the sauna for a couple of days sucking weight. Well here I am 50 and retired. Got on the scale in December 2016 and weighed 301..... Not the highest I've been. Last year I was at 317 and was feeling pretty bad. I dabbled with the idea of bariatric surgery, and even got evaluated for it. After I spent 5 months contemplating never eating a steak no bigger than 2 ounces I just opted out and decided to ask my new doctor for some help. There is a lot of stuff out there, but he talked to me about Contrave. He prescribed 3 months worth and I'm at the end of my second month in Feb 2017. I'm a pretty disciplined guy with most things in my life. I guess the worst discipline is to clean my plate at every meal. I also like to eat until I'm stuffed. Don't know why, just the way I am wired. So I needed some help. I don't go to doctors often, and I don't take medication other than Asprin. I started the Contrave. (great Tricare Prime doesn't cover it. Absolutely idiotic!) It's about $260 for a month supply. There is a web-based Contrave company that offers this at your pharmacy at a very reduced rate if your insurance doesn't cover it. I'm getting it for $92 a month. That I can cover. 1st week I didn't have many side effect symptoms. Maybe a slight headache but nothing major. I started ramping up with 1 in the a.m. and 1 in the p.m. On week two went to 2 and 2. Some dry mouth, and that was about it. So I'm 9 weeks in. I weighed in Wednesday Feb 22nd 2017 at 252. That's not a typo. I am a youth athletic coach, and am outside regularly, but haven't been to the gym due to my weight since I started the Contrave. I also been on a diet since starting the Contrave. What Contrave has done for me is controlled my hunger. My diet is a intermittent fasting diet. You have to be disciplined on it, but I can tell without a doubt that Contrave is the reason that I have been able to stay on it. Now when I eat, I eat fewer times during my meal time, much less, and feel fuller much sooner. My target weight is 225. I see my doctor in early April for my 3 month check up. I intend to be pretty close to that weight as long as I don't taper off losing. Additionally I'll be back in the gym on the elliptical next week. So that, combined with the diet, and Contrave and of course support from my wife is getting me through. Contrave is not a miracle drug. You are going to have to work at it some. It will help you curve that appetite. You have to give it a month. Stay on your diet, and get some exercise. Even if it's a walk for 30 minutes a day. Good luck and I'll be posting in the early part of April 2017.

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How is weight watchers for you? I don't think I am tolerating this CONTRAVE well, and after one month I am going to wean myself off of it.

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I have had the same issues taking Contrave. Ive had intense hot flashes, feeling dizzy and my stomach constantly feels like I want to puke. I've also been taking it for a little over a month and I would rather have the weight then this constant sick feeling.

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I have been taking Contrave for about 2 months, 4 pills/day. I already had mild tinnitus when I started but the ringing in my ears has increased 10 fold since starting Contrave. If I stop taking it, will the ringing lessen? It's consuming me! Anyone else experience ringing in your ears?

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Hi. I was not and am not way overweight and I’ve been taking contrave for over 1 year and love it. I felt side effects for the first 4-5 days but once I was taking 2 in the morning and 2 at night it was great. I lost 10 or so pounds but more than anything its the thoughts that have changed – I’m not thinking about food All Day Long. When I forget and miss the 2 in the afternoon I can feel it and can sit down and binge watch netflix and eat ice cream

What it has done overall is allow me to want to eat healthy foods and not crave sugar. If I have something with sugar I’m just ‘not that into it’ so even if i try and eat a bunch it doesnt give me the high.

I’d love to hear of anyone else who has used it long term – I’d also like to know if anyone out there has taken 6 per day and if the effects are different. Thanks!

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Has anyone experienced hair loss or memory loss while taking Contrave?

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I started taking bupropion (1 of the ingredients in contrive) 7 weeks ago and now have lost about half of my hair's thickness and have a hairline that has receded 1/2 inch! It was a helpful medication, but I cannot be balding. I had waist length, thick curly hair the last week of January and now, I can wrap a hair band 4x around a ponytail that I used to struggle to get around twice. My hair is also straighter than it was. My ringlets are now very loose waves. I have 2 or 3 strands of hair on my shirt every time I look down and small handfuls in the drain every time I shower. This is ridiculous and it is not slowing down. Getting off of this poison gradually over the course of the next 2 weeks and will be trying 5-HTP for depression and weight loss.

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Hi
My insurance covers almost all of it. I pay a $35 copay.

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I have lost 40 lbs on Contrave. The side effects will stop. The rest is in the mind

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I have been on Contrave for 3.5 weeks now and am constipated and sleeping poorly. I also have daytime fatigue and have napped almost every day since increasing my dose to 3 pills a day last week. I do notice that I am satisfied with smaller portions and am not obsessed with food, but do not seem to be losing any weight. I took this hoping for a "magic bullet" as I know myself well enough to know that I am not going to diet or exercise. I will give it a total of 8 weeks and if I have not lost weight I am going to discontinue using it so my body can start sleeping and eliminating well again.

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You need to ween off it like you started taking it.I was down to 3 pills a day and I just stopped. That was two days ago. I feel ok. and No different from when I was taking it. The ringing in my ears got almost unbearable. I'm hoping that it will lessen with time. (its one of the reported side effects.)

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I started Contrave on 3/18/17 but the headaches, fogginess, exhausted feeling, nausea, trouble sleeping, clenching my teeth, and while driving feel my reflex is down. I'm still on 1 pill in the morning only..can I just completely stop?

On a good note I did lose 3 pounds but I just can't function like this.

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Hi there, I've been on it for about 11 months. Side effects are dry mouth, which is an incentive to drink more water. The other is contispation, I tackle that the best way I can.
I usually take 2 in the morning after some food. Sometimes one in the evening. If I experience hot flashes, for me meant I was burning fat. I have lost 50 lbs. I'm gonna say it wasn't easy on the body to purge that fat. I made it thru the work week and on the weekends took it easy. I slept a lot and kept my calories at 1200 to 1800.
Also, if I ate often I felt much better than not eating at all. If I didn't eat I felt like crap.
I didn't exercise during my weight loss, I just couldn't concentrate on my calorie intake, meal prep and the sleep I needed. Hope my experience can help someone else looking to shed fat. Take advantage of the scale down program, it was good support.

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